Metro rail: A gateway to relief for the city dwellers

The first metro rail service of the country is set to be launched by the end of this month and the service will be available on the Uttara-Agargaon route initially. 

The prime minister will set a date for its inauguration very soon. The service will be launched in her presence.

A woman will run the first trip of the first ever metro rail service of the country.

A summary of the proposal for the inauguration of the metro rail service by the end of December has been sent to the prime minister.

According to government sources, the prime minister usually inaugurates development projects on Saturdays. The coming two Saturdays of the month fall on 24 and 31 December respectively.

However, the ruling Awami League’s national council will be held on 24 December. Therefore, the metro rail service may be launched on any day between 27 to 31 December.

People concerned said the launching of metro rail service will give the regular commuters on an important route in Dhaka a relief. People will be able to reach their destinations timely. The residents of Dhaka will no longer have to endure hours of traffic jams in unfit buses or bear additional expenses charged by the auto-rickshaw drivers.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Shamsul Haque, professor of the urban planning department at BUET, said, “The journey of the people, who live along the route of the metro rail, will be comfortable, fast and uninterrupted. The passengers will be able to reach the destination within due time, which is not possible in the existing public transportation system.”

The metro rail project was taken up in 2012. On the following year, a loan agreement was signed with Japanese development partner JICA. The main work of the project commenced in 2017. Now the work is underway for the construction of railways from Diabari in Uttara to Agargaon under this project. This section of the metro rail project will be inaugurated this month.

The total distance of the railway under the metro rail project is a little more than 20 kilometres. The distance of the railway between Uttara and Agargaon is some 11.73 kilometres. There are some nine stations on this route. They are – Uttara North (Diabari), Uttara Centre, Uttara South, Pallabi, Mirpur-11, Mirpur-10, Kazipara, Shewrapara and Agargaon.

There are seven stations on the route from Agargaon to Motijheel – Bijoy Sarani, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh, TSC, Press Club and Motijheel. Later, the railway will be extended by 1.16 kilometres up to the Kamalapur railway station. The metro rail service on the Motijheel route is scheduled to be inaugurated by the end of next year. It may take three more years to launch the metro rail service up to Kamalapur railway station.

According to the DMTCL, the trains under the metro rail service will run at a maximum speed of 100 kmph. Initially, it will take 20 minutes to reach Agargaon from Uttara. The duration will be reduced to some 16-17 minutes later.

Following international practice the trains under the metro rail service will run with limited passengers initially. The number of passengers will be increased gradually.

Within two to three months of inauguration, the trains will run with their full passenger capacity. During the initial phases the metro rail service will be available only in the morning and evening. That is way the number of trains in operation will be limited.

The trains will stand a bit longer than the usual times at the station to give the passengers some time to get accustomed to the new transportation system. Initially, there will be five trains in operation. The number of trains will increase gradually and the waiting times of the trains will be decreased.

According to the DMTCL officials, the trains will not stop at all the stations. After starting from the Uttara North station, the train first will stop at the Pallabi station and then it will go directly to Agargaon station without stopping. The train will start stopping at all the stations later.

The last moment preparations of the DMTCL authority for the inauguration of the metro rail service are underway. The work of setting up stairs and escalators in some areas of Mirpur is underway. The trains are being operated experimentally without passengers now. The Japanese contracting firm and consultants are training the appointed employees at the moment.

So far some 274 employees have been appointed for operating the metro rail service. Of them 24 are operators and 58 are station controllers. Both the operators and station controllers will be able to operate the train. Mariam Afiza is one of the operators. She is likely to be given the charge of operating the first trip of the metro rail service.

According to the DMTCL sources, it will need more manpower to make the service fully operational. A process is underway to recruit 400 people. Besides, no budget has been allocated for the operation of the metro rail project. The DMTCL has asked the government for an allocation of Tk 10 billion in this regard, which will be repaid through the earnings from ticket-selling.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, DMTCL managing director MAN Siddique said, “We are completing the last moment preparations. We will start selling the tickets as soon as we get time from the prime minister. The first trip will be operated by female operators. However, who will be given the charge is yet to be decided.”

Passengers can use lifts, escalators and stairs to go to the metro rail station. The second floor of the three-story station is named concourse hall which will have ticket counters, an office and other equipment. The railway track and platform will be on the third floor. Only people with tickets will be able to go to this floor. There would be railings along the track to avoid accidents. The railing and train’s door will be open simultaneously once the train stops at the station and will be shut automatically after a certain time.   

Every train will have six coaches. Two coaches on both sides are called trailer cars. There would be drivers on both sides. These cars are retentive of 48 passengers. Each of the four other coaches, called motorcars, has a capacity of 54 passengers.

A train is capable of carrying 306 passengers. Each coach is 9.5 feet wide. Passengers can travel standing in the middle space in the coach. The authorities said the metro rail would be able to transport 60,000 people per hour once fully operational.

The government has fixed the minimum fare at Tk 20 and Tk 100 for the entire route from Uttara to Motijheel. The fare has been fixed at Tk 60 from Uttara north station to Agargaon station, the part that would be inaugurated in the first phase

The fare from Uttara north to both Uttara centre and Uttara south stations has been fixed at Tk 20. The fare from Uttara south (first station) to Pallabi and Mirpur-11 has been fixed at Tk 30, Mirpur-10 and Kazipara at Tk 40 and Shewrapara at Tk 50.  

The minimum fare of the bus-mini bus in Dhaka is Tk 10 right now. The fare would seem a bit high for those who travel short distances of 2-3 kilometres at Tk 10. On the other hand, metro rail would be affordable for those who use rickshaws, CNG-run auto-rickshaws or ride-sharing vehicles.

A CNG-run autorickshaw usually charges Tk 150 even for a short distance and the minimum fare of a rickshaw is at least Tk 20. Air Conditioned metro rail will offer a more comfortable journey.

There would be a 10 per cent discount if the fare is paid by smart card. DMTCL sources said weekly, monthly and family cards will have to be purchased in advance. The card can also be recharged in the machine at every metro rail station. Passengers must punch the card while entering the platform to open the door. Then the card must be used again while getting down, otherwise, the passenger will not be able to exit.

Another temporary card will be given during every journey. The passengers will have to collect this card from the station by paying the fare to their destination. It is also like a smart card. If a passenger travels more than he paid for, the door won’t be open with that card. In that case, the passenger will have to pay the extra rent to the staff present at the station to go out.

There would be two ticket counters- one for differently able persons and the other for the general public.

Suman Rahman, a resident of Shewrapara, told Prothom Alo that their sufferings eased with the completion of the metro rail’s construction work. He said he is waiting for the route to be fully operational.

“I would not be much benefitted from the opening of the route up to Agargaon since my office is in Motijheel. I’m waiting for the inauguration of the metro rail up to that station,” Suman Rahman said.

At four metro rail stations, passengers would be able to bring their personal vehicles near the stairs or elevators of stations. The passengers who come by public transport such as bus, taxi, and auto-rickshaw can also get off near the station. For this, sufficient space will be kept in the premises of four stations. This arrangement is called Station Plaza. Snacks will also be available at these locations. Plazas will be constructed at four stations — Uttara (North), Agargaon, Farmgate and Kamalapur.

Initially, the cost of the metro rail project was around Tk 220 billion. The expenditure has increased by about Tk 115 billion due to road expansion, construction of station plaza, new land acquisition at some stations, increase in the cost of consultants, increase in the price of products, and increased VAT due to various reasons. Of the total cost of around Tk 335 billion, JICA is giving Tk 197 billion while the government is spending Tk 137.53 billion.

The overall progress of the project was a little more than 84 per cent as of November. The progress of the section from Uttara to Agargaon is 95 per cent.

BUET professor Samsul Haque told Prothom Alo that traffic pressure may increase on roads connecting metro rail stations. All over the world, such projects are taken up with a holistic plan. Metrorail is being built merely as a project in Bangladesh, without any integrated planning.